Cain wrote hardboiled crime fiction, helping to develop the form, and several of his novels were later made into movies. He lived at this address from 1948 to his death in 1977. Some of his personal possessions, including his manual typewriter, are preserved at the University of Maryland in their special collections on Maryland Writers.

Cain worked as a journalist for several newspapers, including the Baltimore Sun, New York World, and American Mercury. He briefly served as managing editor of The New Yorker, and wrote screenplays, before becoming a full-time fiction writer. He is the author of 22 books (short fiction and novels), including The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934), Serenade (1937), Mildred Pierce (1941), and Double Indemnity (1943).